On Tue, 11 Oct 2005, Kevin & Mimi O'Donnell wrote:

> It makes me so sad that parents are being fed so many "how to's" for
> parenting. Parents are so unsure of themselves today and I just don't
> understand why.

I think it's because many young parents are so far from their extended
families - geographically, emotionally and/or when it comes to parenting
views.  Plus they are bombarded with advertisements and media blurbs that
tell them they should do X, Y and Z.  BUT... IMO, it starts with the
undermining of their natural instincts during pregnancy and birth.  When
their birth experience is medically managed, their self-confidence takes a
beating.  They learn pretty quickly to ignore their own inner voice and
take the experts' advice without critical thinking.

> I guess I was one of the lucky ones that had a mother who had a natural
> birth and breastfed me for 10 months back in 1970.

You definitely were one of the lucky ones... heh... I tell my daughter
that ALL THE TIME!  ;)  She was born in 1978... natural birth, breastfed
until she got up and walked away from me when I offered to nurse her.
And, not coincidentally, I think... she is a very confident parent now.
Heck, she even has the confidence to tell me to mind my own business now
and then!  ;)

Cee

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html